PrepTest 144, Section 4, Question 9
A manager cannot extract the best performance from(57 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AIncreased responsibility can(10 more words not shown)
- BIt is often(16 more words not shown)
- CIn some cases(15 more words not shown)
- DPeople who carry(14 more words not shown)
- EBusiness works best(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Give employees decisions to make, and they may care more about doing the job well. I can see how that approach differs from threatening to fire them or promising a bonus.
The passage says the best performance requires wanting to do a good job for its own sake. Be careful with “best.” It doesn't say a threat or reward could never improve anyone's performance at all. It says those methods won't extract the employee's best performance.
Delegating responsibility is offered as one of the best ways to create that internal motivation. Instead of directly pressuring people to produce more, the manager changes their relationship to the work: they now make decisions that used to belong to the manager. We could wonder whether every employee would handle that responsibility well, but the passage presents this as an effective strategy.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for a broader proposition illustrated by the situation. My first thought is that an indirect approach can help solve a problem. Let's see which answer accurately captures what the manager is doing and why it helps.
Working the answers
- A
Giving someone responsibility isn't necessarily teaching that person how power should be used. The described benefit is greater motivation to do good work. A shifts to an improvement in judgment about power that the passage doesn't establish.
- B
We aren't given a comparison between the desire for prestige and the desire for job security. The passage contrasts external pressures with wanting to do the job well for its own sake. Adding prestige changes the motives under discussion.
- CCorrect
The person in this answer is the manager. The manager becomes more effective at getting good work from employees by handing over some decisions that the manager previously controlled. That is a partial relinquishing of control. We don't need to claim that every manager should give up every decision; the situation illustrates that giving up some control can improve effectiveness.
- D
The employees might become more motivated when given decisions without being the people best qualified to make those decisions. The passage explains a benefit of delegation, not a comparison of who has the most expertise or best judgment.
- E
The passage concerns a particular management strategy, not a general account of how business works best. It also stresses doing good work for its own sake, rather than working for the personal rewards mentioned at the start. E replaces that specific motivational account with a broader claim about self-interest.
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